Stuffed zucchini

/5

PRESENTATION

Live from Sunday lunch, an unbeatable classic on our tables: stuffed zucchini!  Digitally-savvy grandmas can share their versions online, usually hidden in the family recipe books, and maybe reveal a few secrets or tricks to make it easier to prepare. As tradition dictates, no part of the zucchini goes to waste, and this recipe is proof of that: The flesh, once removed, is used to flavor the meat stuffing and the zucchini itself forms a little holder for the tasty filling. For the finishing touch, the top is used as a nice lid for the zucchini, giving it a shape that recalls an old-fashioned sugar bowl. Cute, but above all delicious, stuffed zucchini are a classic of Italian home cooking that we can’t resist!

You might also like:

INGREDIENTS
Ingredients for 4 stuffed zucchini
Round zucchini 4
Pork 0.25 lb (100 g) - ground
Sausage 0.25 lb (100 g) - pork
Eggs 1 - medium
Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese ¼ cup (30 g) - grated
Parsley 1 tbsp
Black pepper to taste
Breadcrumbs 0.25 oz (20 g)
Fine salt to taste
Extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp
Preparation

How to prepare Stuffed zucchini

To prepare the stuffed zucchini, wash the zucchini under running water, dry them with a clean cloth, and cut off the top to form the lid 1. Score the inner perimeter with a small knife, then make an X in the flesh 2 and remove one segment at a time 3.

Next, scoop out the inside using a melon baller or teaspoon 4, creating a shell around ?” (1 cm) thick 5. This way, you’ll have both the lids and the shells ready to be stuffed. Season the insides of the zucchini 6 with salt and bake in the oven at 390°F (200°C) for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the filling: Place the ground pork 7 in a bowl and add the sausage, with the skin already removed 8, and the grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese 9.

 

Then add the chopped zucchini flesh 10, the egg, lightly beaten 11, and the chopped breadcrumb 12.

Now add the chopped parsley, season with salt and pepper 13, and combine the mixture with your hands 14 until it’s even 15.

Grease a deep baking dish with a good glug of oil 16. Take the (cooked) zucchini and put them in the dish 17, then fill them to the brim with the stuffing you just made 18.

Put the lids in the dish as well and bake in a conventional oven preheated to 340°F (170°C) for around 60 minutes. Once the stuffed zucchini have gone golden and crispy on the surface 19, take them out of the oven and serve them up 20, placing the lids on top of the stuffing 21.

Storage

 

Store the stuffed zucchini in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days. You can freeze them if the ingredients you used were all fresh, i.e., not defrosted.

Tips

There are lots of different variations on the stuffed zucchini filling; you can let your imagination run wild and change the type of meat used or even use canned tuna fillets in oil instead!

Answers and Questions
  • Hi, why don't you boil the zucchini shells before filling them?

    Hi, we prefer to avoid this step to keep the shells firmer, so they will keep the shape while cooking.

  • Can long zucchini also be used for this recipe?

    Of course, you can also use zucchini of other shapes, empty them and stuff them as indicated in the recipe.

  • If I have some filling left over, how can I reuse it?

    You can prepare some tasty meatballs and bake them in the oven.

  • My mixture is too soft, how can I fix it?

    Add some breadcrumbs to have a more dense mixture.

  • Once frozen after cooking how do I thaw them?

    Hello, we recommend that you defrost them in the refrigerator and then put them in the oven for the time necessary to heat them.